KMT denies Ma will be indicted

By Mo Yan-chih / STAFF REPORTER

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday dismissed allegations that prosecutors will indict Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) soon over the alleged misuse of his former mayoral special allowance fund, while citing laws in defense of Ma's innocence.

According to a report in the Chinese-language China Times yesterday, an anonymous senior Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) official claimed that a member of Ma's legal team had said prosecutors are likely to indict Ma as soon as Feb. 9.

KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) and Ma's lawyer Song Yao-ming (宋耀明) both denied the report yesterday and urged the newspaper not to make groundless allegations.

"I am the only lawyer Mr. Ma has appointed, and there is not a team of lawyers. I do not know any senior DPP senior officials and have never discussed the case with the DPP," Song said in a written statement, asking the newspaper to correct its report.

Wu cited Ministry of Justice regulations about mayoral special allowances in denying that Ma had violated any regulations when he was Taipei mayor.

The regulations state that half of the special allowance is a "substantial subsidy," which officials are entitled to use without providing any receipts.

Asked for a comment, Ma said he was confident he had done nothing wrong and that he expected prosecutors to be fair.

"I can't predict what will happen in the future. I can't control the situation, but I have made preparations for what is to come," he said after attending a luncheon at the Armed Forces Officers' Club.

He refused to say whether he would resign as party chairman if indicted.